United with the Family by Cherie Benjamin (most read book in the world .TXT) 📕

"You sure did.  Let’s see you do it again."  Rosa said proudly. Again Ara took her shots, focusing on everything she did prior to make sure she hit the target, and she did, repeatedly striking the target in a close-knit pattern.  Rosa was shocked at how well Ara was doing for her first time. She was really good. Over the next hour, Rosa instructed Ara in several other guns, and had Ara practice with each one, familiarizing her with the feel of each one, and the adjustments needed to counter any kick back.  With each weapon, Ara hit the target dead on.

"Ara, honey, you are excellent."  Rosa said, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one else was around, she whispered in Ara’s ear, "You may be even better than Kane, but don't tell him; I’m not sure his ego could handle it."

Ara laughed, yes, she certainly did understand that.  She was so excited that she had impressed Rosa. She hoped that if she was ever in a situation where she had to use her weapon, she would remember how.

Rosa decided to make the practice a little more realistic, and handed Ara a small 9mm handgun with a silencer attached.  "This is my gift to you. Keep it on yourself at all times, and remember everything you have learned today, remove the safety, take aim, and release a breath when you take your shot."

"Oh, Rosa thank you so much."  Ara truly appreciated having Rosa not only to instruct her in her weapons training, and the gift of the gun she gave her, but also for thinking of her as a daughter.

"Come over as often as you want and practice.  You can never practice too much,” Rosa emphasized.

"I will." Ara responded

"Good, now let's go see what the men are up to."  After properly securing the weapons, and cleaning up the practice area, Rosa and Ara went to check on their men.

When they arrived upstairs, they were met by Erik.  “Ara, when are you going to start training?" Erik asked.

"Already finished."  She responded with a smile.

"Really, who trained you?"  He asked, looking behind Rosa and Ara to see who the firearms instructor was.

"Erik, Rosa taught me."

Erik shook his head in disbelief, Rosa Leone taught Ara how to shoot, how was that possible?

"Erik, dear, don't overthink it.  I'll let Ara give you a demonstration one day, okay?” Rosa responded as she patted him on his shoulder.

"Okay, I guess."  Although Erik was totally flabbergasted that Rosa was instructing Ara.

Ara and Rosa found the boys in the media room watching a Mariners game and yelling at the screen.  Ara walked over and kissed Kane on the cheek. When she pulled away, he looked up with his green eyes shining brightly and gave her one of his signature smiles, one side of his mouth raised higher than the other side with his full pouty lips closed.

"All done?"  He asked.

"Yes,” she responded, rubbing his shoulders.

"How did you do?"  Kane looked between his mother and Ara.

"Oh, Kane, I had so much fun. Rosa said I'm excellent.  Can you believe that?" Ara eagerly said.

"That is great, baby.  I cannot wait to see you shoot; I bet you are sexy as hell."  Kane said as he thought about Ara holding and shooting a gun. Fuck the image in his head was making him hard and his need for her increased with every second that the thought remained.

"Baby, are you okay? You look a little flushed."  Ara asked.

"Yeah, just a little warm in here.  So, what is next?"

"Ara and I are going to go over the family business."  Nazario proudly said, excited over sharing his knowledge with her.  "And before you ask, Kane, yes, you can come."

Kane’s face then broke out into a full, somewhat goofy, smile.  Chanting repeatedly in his head. "I get to go. I get to go." There was no doubt in Ara’s mind that he was definitely feeling the effects of his pain meds.

They went up to Nazario’s office and spent the next several hours going over the family business, both legal and illegal.  Ara asked many questions, as did Kane; with Nazario’s help, they worked up some ideas on how to make the upcoming transition as smooth as possible.  The Leone family was preparing for the change and Kane and Ara hoped that there would not be too much bloodshed when it happened. They discussed the plans to carry out Kurtus’ hit, and how to deal with Sebastian.  They knew that they needed to maintain clear heads and handle the hit discreetly, but they needed to come up with a way to kill the motherfucker and without incurring a response from the Morotti family members that were still loyal to Kurtus and Sebastian.  

                                                        ~~~~~*~~~~~

Meanwhile, across town, Sebastian was sitting in his father's office.  He needed his father to sign some documents and since the asshole refused to turn over the family to him and Kurtus, he had to make the trip to the old man.

"Sebastian, I need to ask you a question?"  Zachary asked, hoping to get some information he could use when the time came to turn over the family to Kane and Ara.

"Sure, what’s up?"  Sebastian scuffed.

"Do you know anything about a hit being put out on the Leone family?"  Zachary watched Sebastian carefully as he waited for his response.

Sebastian maintained a calm exterior, but inside he was cussing up a storm.  How the hell did he find out about that? Keeping his expression calm, he looked his father in the eye and responded, "No."

"Really?  Because your name, along with Kurtus’, came up from a source in a possible hit being placed on the Leone family."

"Well, Father, this is news to me.  I don't know anything about it. You and I both know that something like that would have to come directly from you, as you are still the Boss of this family."

"That’s correct, son, I am still the boss, and I better not find out that you have gone behind my back and committed any acts against the Leones that was not approved or directed by me.  Do I make myself clear? Vi ricorderete il tuo posto in questa famiglia." (You will remember your place in this family.)

"Yes, Father,” Sebastian sneered.

"Okay.  Here are the documents; make sure Kurtus is aware of this conversation."  Zachary barked.

Sebastian turned and walked out of the office, burning up inside with rage.  Damn, he wanted to take the old man out right this minute, but he knew that he needed to stick to the plan that he and Kurtus had worked.  The Leones needed to be the ones to take the fall. As he walked out of the building, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Dad, the asshole is still alive."  Kurtus hissed into the phone.

"Fuck, did Waylon miss?"  Sebastian could not believe this was happening.

"No, but he only shot Kane in the arm, before Kane's second rushed Waylon."

"Fuck, where is Waylon now?"  Sebastian had a suspicion that he was probably dead.

"Don't know.  The lookout said that he was taken."  Kurtus was just as irritated as his father.

"Fuck, I hope he keeps his mouth shut."  Sebastian said, secretly hoping that he would squeal like a pig.  It had taken years but they had finally swayed Waylon over to their side.  They had planted documentation that Nazario Leone had killed Waylon’s mother and covered it up.  But, in reality, she died of a heart attack, while Waylon was out of the country on family business.  Sebastian had a friend in the hospital who provided him with fake medical documentation that proved what Sebastian was saying was true.  Once they had Waylon hating the Leones, it was easy to get him to stay hidden in the family and give information to Sebastian and Kurtus.  They gave him promises of money and becoming Kurtus’ second, but, as soon as Zachary and the Leones were dead, Waylon would be taken out.

"Well, we need to step up security, in case he ran his mouth."

"Okay, rally all the family members loyal to us.  And also I need you find out everything you can on Kane Leone's girlfriend."  Sebastian wanted all his bases covered. And having Kane’s girlfriend as a trophy wouldn’t hurt either.

"Kane Leone doesn't do girlfriends; he only does submissives."  Kurtus said wondering who the fuck his dad was talking about. When he was still a member at Diamond Knots, he had witnessed the type of women that Kane Leone had around him.  All were submissive and nothing more.

"Well, it looks like he does now, so find out who she is."  Sebastian was wondering why in the hell he had to explain this to Kurtus.  He should have been on top of this type of information.

Sebastian hung up the phone and looked out at the busy street.  Deep inside, he knew that there was something different about this girl, and he needed to know what it was, and quick.

Kane and Ara arrived back home after a long and tiresome afternoon discussing family business with Nazario.  They had gone back and forth on planning out the hit on Kurtus, but each scenario held too many negative aspects for success.  This needed to be perfectly planned and executed to ensure complete success and eliminating additional bloodshed, unless it was Sebastian’s.  Nazario had been worried about Ara's reaction to the thought of the family’s plotting to kill her biological father, but Ara appeased Nazario’s mind when she told him that Sebastian was not her father, only a sperm donor.  She informed Nazario that, as of late, she felt a daughterly bond with only one man. Nazario was confused and questioned her about it. In response, Ara smiled gloriously when she proclaimed that the man was indeed Nazario himself.  In the end, they had decided to shelf their planning with regards to Kurtus and Sebastian in order to think more about it and reach the right decision.

When Kane and Ara arrived home, the apartment was bursting with delicious smells from the dinner that Janetta was preparing. Kane and Ara went straight upstairs to shower and get ready for their company.

Ara was anxiously looking forward to seeing Katrina.  It seemed like ages since she and Katrina just sat down or had girl time together.  She missed her friend and couldn't wait to talk her about the wedding plans. Rosa had assured Ara that with her generous amount of contacts, she was sure that Ara would have the wedding of her dreams, regardless of the limited time constraints.  Ara was like any other woman who had grown up with dreams of her ideal wedding. Strangely enough, hers had always been steeped in Italian traditions, a multitude of flowers, and delicate lace.

After a quick dirty romp in the shower, Kane and Ara got dressed for dinner.  Kane put on a pair of Armani dress pants, a crisp white shirt, leaving the top buttons open and showing off his chest hair and the matching Armani blazer.  He came out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel, and tried without success to tame his locks with a brush. He finally gave up and settled for what Ara referred to as the